2010 WG₉

2010 WG₉ is a high inclination trans-Neptunian object and slow rotator from the outer Solar System, approximately 100 kilometers in diameter.[1] It was first observed at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile on 30 November 2010.[2]

2010 WG₉

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	LaSilla–Quest Variability Srvy.
Discovery site	La Silla Observatory
Discovery date	30 November 2010 (discovery: first observation only)
Designations
MPC designation	2010 WG9
Minor planet category	TNO [1] · centaur · distant [2]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3
Observation arc	6.22 yr (2,271 days)
Aphelion	87.037 AU
Perihelion	18.765 AU
Semi-major axis	52.901 AU
Eccentricity	0.6453
Orbital period	384.77 yr (140,538 days)
Mean anomaly	10.821°
Mean motion	0° 0^m 9.36^s / day
Inclination	70.331°
Longitude of ascending node	92.065°
Argument of perihelion	293.00°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	100.81 km (calculated)[3] 112.7±61.9 km[4]
Rotation period	263.8±0.1 h[5]
Geometric albedo	0.074±0.080[4] 0.10 (assumed)[3]
Spectral type	B–R = 1.10[6] B–V = 0.798±0.034[5] V–R = 0.520±0.018[5]
Absolute magnitude (H)	8.1[1][3]

Orbit and classification

2010 WG₉ orbits the Sun at a distance of 18.8–87.0 AU once every 384 years and 9 months (140,538 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.65 and an inclination of 70° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

As of October 2019, it is one of six known objects with inclination (i) > 60° and perihelion (q) > 15 AU, along with the first discovered 2008 KV42.[7]

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

A rotational lightcurve of 2010 WG₉ was obtained from photometric observations by the LaSilla–Quest Variability Survey at La Silla in Chile. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 263.8 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.14 magnitude (U=2).[5] It belongs to the Top 200 slowest rotators known to exist.

Diameter and albedo

It measures 112.7 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.074.[4] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo of 0.10 and calculates a diameter of 100.81 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 8.1.[3]

References

1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2010 WG9)" (2016-03-13 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
2. "2010 WG9". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
3. "LCDB Data for (2010)". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 25 July 2017.
4. Bauer, James M.; Grav, Tommy; Blauvelt, Erin; Mainzer, A. K.; Masiero, Joseph R.; Stevenson, Rachel; et al. (August 2013). "Centaurs and Scattered Disk Objects in the Thermal Infrared: Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE Observations". The Astrophysical Journal. 773 (1): 11. arXiv:1306.1862. Bibcode:2013ApJ...773...22B. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/773/1/22. S2CID 51139703.
5. Rabinowitz, David; Schwamb, Megan E.; Hadjiyska, Elena; Tourtellotte, Suzanne; Rojo, Patricio (July 2013). "The Peculiar Photometric Properties of 2010 WG9: A Slowly Rotating Trans-Neptunian Object from the Oort Cloud". The Astronomical Journal. 146 (1): 10. arXiv:1305.5134. Bibcode:2013AJ....146...17R. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/146/1/17. S2CID 119206739.
6. "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
7. "Custom query: i = 60 and q = 15+". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 July 2017.

External links

• List Of Centaurs and Scattered-Disk Objects, Minor Planet Center
• 2010 WG9 at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 2010 WG9 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters